


A Matter of Trust, Ch6-Pt2

by Dressari



Series: Distant Worlds [17]
Category: Creators Keepers of Mana, Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures, Furry (Fandom)
Genre: CKoM, DMFA - Freeform, Elements, Furrae, Mana - Freeform, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 03:57:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11592453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dressari/pseuds/Dressari
Summary: Things don't turn out quite as expected as the group explores the tower. With Relina's wounds growing worse by the minute, it's a race against time to discover her location and bring her home.





	A Matter of Trust, Ch6-Pt2

[What does one think when someone see's this...](https://inkbunny.net/submissionview.php?id=1401122&page=2#pictop)

 

Aaryanna looked on with a shocked and dumbstruck gaze of awe. What she had just witnessed - no what she had just RIDDEN - was something out of a book of fairy tales. Surely she had words or descriptions to apply to what it was that had just happened, but they were currently lost to her right now. Even the anger she directed to her other party members about separating into the pairs they did seem a minor issue.

The air around her was still frightfully warm even in the cold air she originally felt on the way to the top of the tower. She was on a balcony on the topmost floor of Mallenkar Tower, it had been the route her new 'partner' had chosen to take entry to begin their search for their missing friends. Finally Aaryanna managed to put her thoughts into a words.

“...What... ARE you?” she asked Adrian.

“Hmm,” grunted Adrian brushing off a few embers that had surrounded his arms, dispersing them into the air. It was amusing, he heard that exact same phrase in almost the same tone and question as a certain blue Cubi asked on first meeting. “As I said to Destania, I am a Creator.” he replied and reached out for Teacup whom kept close, it too appeared stunned and awed as it was petted.

Aaryanna stomped her foot in frustration and directed a finger at him, “That doesn't explain-” suddenly the man jumped on her placing a hand over her mouth to muffle her shout, he looked at her square in the eyes with a fixed determined stare.

In a hushed voice he told her, “Aaryanna, I appreciate your frustration, but I ask that you keep your questions and voice tone to a low. Please.” requested Adrian. The Cubi shoved his hand off from her muzzle, providing an irritated expression of her own. “It's unlikely we got here unnoticed, but the less attention we draw to ourselves the better, don't you think?”

“Don't ever grab me by the face again without my consent unless you want to lose a finger.” threatened Aaryanna with a hushed tone, prodding him in the nose to emphasise her point.

“Glad we agree,” sighed Adrian turning away and approaching the large wooden doors that represented the only portal into the tower. From his PSU he summoned a pistol, this too made of Elevas and shaped to resemble a revolver in design. Although it lacked a functioning rotating chamber it instead fired an energy based projectile and was more bulkier around the barrel. A number of ley-lines, beige in colour coursed through the frame and ended at the barrel. Pressing himself against one of the doors his ISRU training coming to the fore naturally as he prepared for entry.

Aaryanna however, puzzled by the man's method of approach, followed after him with a crossed armed walk. Tilting her head to one side she stopped before the door, watching as he opened the heavy-set door, just enough so he could peer inside. Frustrated by his lack of action she grabbed the door and swung it open with almost a slam against the tower wall.

Adrian let out an agitated sigh and dropped his head down in disbelief at his companion's lack of patience as she waltzed her way inside to the next room. He really had to wonder why Fa'Lina insisted he paired up with her to take the high route, even Aaryanna had been adverse to the suggestion but eventually relented to the headmistress's request.

“You're a rather blunt one aren't you Aaryanna.” commented Adrian walking in after her.

“And you're wasting time with whatever nonsense you are doing.” she shot back.

The two found themselves in a large library-like office, the walls lined with shelves of books and a singular elaborate wooden desk in the centre. The room was littered with open books, discarded papers and scrolls. The library was huge, taking up the rest of the top of the tower, catwalks even lining the shelves to make it easier to reach the higher books. This was definitely something worthy of a collector, no doubt Oolong, the Academy's head librarian, would have a field day here.

“There's something to be said about being cautious Aaryanna, there's no telling what to expect here.”

“What is there to worry about, you're the one with this supposed super sense that can tell where someone is.” she said with a shrug of her shoulders and placing a hand onto her hip wondering what Adrian's problem was; it sounded like he wasn't as confident about this plan as he were earlier.

“That doesn't make them infallible, they're only as good as my concentration is.”

“So concentrate, lets find Brelioro and kill him, find Destania and the others and get out of here.”

“It's not that simple, I'm trying my hardest but that distortion is making it difficult for me to pin point anyone in this mess.” Adrian felt a sudden chill wash over him as he tried to penetrate this 'veil' with his senses, yet all it did was reflect back at him like a broken mirror. He could sense something, just not where it was. “This place feels like... nature just collided in so many unusual ways.” Suddenly Aaryanna appeared before his view standing very close, her determined look was mixed with some mild concern. Red eyes belied an angry, impulsive Cubi with some compassion hidden behind it all.

“Whatever that means it clearly makes you uncomfortable, I can sense it in your emotions, perhaps caution is in order, but we should not delay too much,” she told him before moving away further into the room. She passed the table and snatched up one of the books from it, curious to its contents. There were no titles present, but the pages were bristling with words and numbers, dates. This was a journal, but the dates were written in an unusual format. Then an idea came to mind, “Hey, Adrian, what was the last date you remember before your frozen thing?”

Adrian had already approached the only other door in the room, again he had approached it cautiously, prying the wooden partition open enough so he could examine the corridor it hid. He held his pistol at the ready, aiming it through the gap in case he needed to fire it. “Twenty-second of June, two-thousand and thirty-five.”

“This journal is dated from your time, there's no way this is a date in Furrae.” said Aaryanna waving the journal into the air. Adrian moved from the door and returned to her, checking back on himself to be sure they were 'safe' for the moment. She flipped the book back open and directed his attention to one of the dates, “They're similar, but the year is wrong. I gather if what you say is true, this should be familiar to you.”

Adrian took the edge of the journal gently, his eyes went a little wider as he read part of the passage, although he did not recognise the handwriting at first. The contents however were familiar, “...This is one of my father's journals. So... he really was the Baron before Brelioro.” he said taking the book from his companion's grip. He flicked through a few of the pages, gleaning over the passages, “This... is after my freezing, almost straight after it.” He snapped it closed and let the book drop to one side before peering up to the shelves of books lining the walls, “Are all of these his journals since then...? Two-hundred thousand years...”

“It's a lot of books to be sure...”

“I wonder if...”

“Adrian, we don't have time to look at all of this, it was probably luck that the one I picked up happened to be related to you.” reminded Aaryanna waving a hand in front of his face before directing him back towards the exit doorway.

She was right, there would be time to look for answers when this was over, Adrian tossed the book back onto the nearby desk and snapped himself towards the exit. “Lets get moving, before the others are discovered.” he said, retrieving a digital phone from his pants, manipulating it briefly and then returning it.

Pushing the door open he waved on to Aaryanna signalling the corridor was clear, and still was after a brief check once again. Their search began, any number of things were going to happen at this point; which of the two parties would discover the captives first, or their captors was simply a matter of time. The corridors appeared to stretch on for some time before they found the way down to the next level, and even then they continued on, filled with room after room. Many were barren, some were derelict while others appeared to have a purpose.

What struck them both as strange was the lack of guards or defences, not even encountering the Hollows that Adrian had sensed earlier. Unless that was also because of the distortion, but making assumptions was pointless at this time, it was better to believe they would run into them sooner or later, not a matter of if. Everything turned up empty, and things became more eerie the more rooms they examined. One of the rooms did strike them both as unusual, a cage, wide open with a picked lock, inside was a small amount of blood lightly in one area.

It was then they remembered Relina's wound, they must've been getting close. They moved onto the next floor after a short search, their pace increasing since their discovery. It wasn't much longer until they did encounter something familiar.

“Alexsi!” blurted Aaryanna, rushing to the feline's prone form against the wall of a corridor, her signature mallet was discarded nearby but remained undamaged. Aaryanna hunched down and pushed on Alexsi's body a few times, she was alive but stirred with a pained hiss, reaching for her head with a hand. Aaryanna let out a breath of relief, “Oh thank goodness you're okay.”

“Ngh, except for the headache... again.” groaned Alexsi, “Ugh, is that you Aary?”

“It's me, Adrian is here too, you're safe now.”

Aaryanna helped Alexsi to sit upright and leant her against the wall, there was a small bruise on the temple of her head very apparent along with a few singed hairs. Likely a spell had struck her in the head, one that was designed more to incapacitate than harm, thankfully. Alexsi opened her eyes with a struggling wince, her blurry vision coming into focus to see Aaryanna's smiling face, and then Adrian's back retrieving her mallet from the floor.

“Ngh, where did you guys come from? How did you find us?” said Alexsi performing a slow long blink to ease off the pain. She touched the injured area and winced a little then Adrian reached out and carefully slid his hand over the injury, a musky green glow pulsing around it. Suddenly a spurt of pain erupted causing her to let out a surprised growl, yet as quickly as it came it too faded until the pain was almost gone completely. “Ouch, THAT'S your healing power, Adrian? That hurts.”

“Accelerated healing, no pain, no gain,” replied Adrian holding the wooden mallet across his knees, “Remember the brooch I gave you? I infused it with a very intense signature of Mana that acted as a homing beacon.”

Alexsi took a moment to process his claim, her hand padding around for the brooch, “Relina... I gave it to Relina- I used it to hold the bandage on her wound.” she said letting her hand drop after its search. Using the wall as leverage she pushed herself up from the floor with assistance from Aaryanna, she stumbled a little showing that her balance was still disrupted from the spell. Adrian handed her the mallet once she stood with more coordination, “Thanks, we need to find Relina and get out of here.”

“We need to find Destania too, and kill Brelioro while we're at it.” mentioned Aaryanna.

“W-What!? She's here too?” blurted Alexsi, “We have to find her!”

As Alexsi went to take her first step she stumbled as her balance and coordination fumbled over themselves. Both Adrian and Aaryanna caught her just as Alexsi fell to her knees, still dizzy and woozy from the spell's impact earlier, the mallet half limp in her hand as she tried to keep a grip on it.

“You, are going nowhere Alexsi,” grunted Adrian, trying to keep Alexsi from falling to the floor. With Aaryanna's help they carefully brought the feline Being back to her feet, “Aaryanna, take Teacup and get Alexsi back to the inn so she can recover.” he ordered, allowing the Cubi to take most of the shouldering duties.

Although normally Aaryanna would have been reluctant to follow an order from a stranger, she wasn't about to argue. Alexsi was in no state to travel let alone fight, and as much as she wanted to be there to kick Brelioro's ass into the dirt she had to put her friend first. “Fine, just watch Fa'Lina's back, if you betray her I'll hunt you down myself.” she told him.

Taking her words under... advisement, Adrian provided a short, sharp nod and set off down the corridors, retrieving one of his data pads to track the crystal brooch that was now within Relina's possession. With any luck he would find her quickly. A short moment passed as he followed the corridors, even with the device pinging the brooch, trying to pin down the exact location was difficult. Whatever was happening with the Mana in the area made things more unpredictable.

He passed by several rooms, carefully glancing in each one while keeping a guarded finger near the trigger of his weapon. As he searched, his free hand rapidly pressed the holographic display of a hand held computer, the display would frequently ping with lines of text, communicating with the recipient of his messages.

“Adrian, so good of you to finally join us.”

Adrian froze in his tracks, stopping just in front of an open archway that lead into a room with no door attached to hide the next room. Slowly he glanced up from the computer and to his side, already familiar with the one whom called out to him. “Brelioro...” greeted Adrian with a dry tone in turn. Inside the room stood the Baron, arms folded, staring in his direction.

“Step inside if you would, but keep the gun lowered unless you want to see a pool of blood.” directed the Baron motioning with two fingers for the fur-less Being to come forward. Adrian did so, slowly but cautiously with his weapon lowered to one side, once past the archway the Baron directed a hand to his side. “Do take note of the current situation, and listen well.” he said.

The Baron was not alone, to the side stood Callis, her hair tied back and her attire had changed slightly but it was her. She appeared startled to finally see Adrian without his armour, yet it did little to falter the grip with the rapier that was pressed against Relina's neck as she stood behind the captive Cubi. Relina looked exhausted and her legs trembled with a stutter from being forced to stand, all while the wound in her side had bled a lightly through the bandage.

The brooch was still neatly attached to the bandage, if chipped a little.

“Relina... you with me?” called out Adrian.

“Nnngh, I'm here...” she whined too weak to really struggle much.

“She is alive, for the moment.” added the Baron before flicking his wrist out and then dragging it back to himself. The gun Adrian held flew from his hand with a forceful snap surrounded by a pink glow, the weapon colliding with the Baron's hand by the top of the barrel. “You do not need that for now.” he said before throwing it behind himself.

“You think I need a weapon to be a threat?” reminded Adrian with a glare.

“Of course not, but your reliance on them is not fitting of your heritage.” replied the Baron, “That and it is a distraction, your trigger finger is not needed here, only your ears.”

“Fine, talk then let Relina go.”

“So demanding, even in a perilous situation...” sighed the Baron but ignoring Adrian's demands he turned his body to the side and revealed a pedestal that was hidden by his cloak. Upon the pedestal, floating an inch from the gold trimmed platform, was an orb, “This, my friend, is the result of many, many years of hard work. Do you know what this is?” he asked.

“A glass ball filled with white smoke, I don't freaking know or care.” snapped Adrian. The Baron seemed surprised, even startled by his answer, lowering the presenting arm down with a hesitant fall to his side.

Silence fell upon the room, the Baron just stared seemingly dumbfounded by the lack of an answer he was provided as if it wasn't satisfactory enough to his liking. He reached under the mask briefly, removing an itch that had formed with a slow scratch.

Relina then groaned shuffling from under Callis's firm grip, “I-It's... It's an Essence link. Ngh-”

“Be quiet Cubi, you have no place to speak,“ directed Callis, pressing the blade against Relina's cheek to remind her of her place in the room. The wolf's ears twitched however when she heard her employer had let out a slow chuckle, was he impressed all of a sudden? His laugh sent a chill up her spine.

“Let her speak, Callis, it seems our young guest is familiar with them. Relina, do explain this unfamiliar object to our friend.” said the Baron motioning at Callis with a hand.

Relina let out a tired gasp as the pressure from the blade loosened. She felt anxious, placed on the spot to explain a magical device she had only read about in books. To see something so powerful and dangerous in person, it made her fearful of whom its recipients were going to be, “...C-Can I at least sit down?” she asked with a wheeze.

Callis looked to the Baron, with a nod he granted the request and his assistant dragged a nearby chair over and dropped Relina into it with a rather harsh thud, causing the girl to wince. The wolf adventurer tapped her blade against the Cubi's shoulder and pressed it against the neck area as a careful reminder.

“Those t-things, they use souls... captured ones.” huffed Relina, “Whomever uses it can trace bloodline lineages right down to newborns. O-One had been used to nearly destroy a whole clan of Cubi.” she let out a gasped breath, clutching her side. The pain grew sparking fears the injuries were becoming infected. “B-But, it can only trace down the line, not up, parents to children, to grandchildren.”

“The young girl is astute, and very correct. This one however is designed differently, in the fact that it can be reversed.” added the Baron, running his hand over the smooth surface of the orb gently, treating it like a treasured heirloom. Years of his life had gone into creating this one of a kind link and the time for using it came close, much closer than he had expected. “This is an instrument of my revenge, payback for the horrors that were inflicted upon me by her. And it was you, Adrian, that helped deliver the key.”

“Excuse me?” snapped Adrian unimpressed by his short sob story.

The Baron however hesitated in a reply as his hand slowly drifted away from the surface of the orb, “...Hm, it appears our other guests have been nosing around too much.” he said with a grumble and cleaned the dust that had gathered from between his finger and thumb. “I would ask in your assistance in removing them, Adrian, if you would be so kind.”

By other guests he must've meant by Fa'Lina and Biggs, “You have got to be kidding, why the hell would I even consider helping you attack my friends.” scoffed Adrian looking past the Baron to his pistol that was discarded in the corner. It would be quick and easy to recall it back to his hand, or even light up a few elements, but with Relina so close to a blade... even he didn't feel confident to be quick enough to stop Callis.

“A book, not the one I gave you, another that is in your possession.” said the Baron pointing to Adrian's PSU from his hip. He chuckled, “I know you have it, retrieve it, now.”

The Creator tapped the aforementioned unit with his fingers, hesitating briefly before sliding his fingers across the surface and materialising the book in to his hand. It wasn't like he had much choice at the moment. Once materialised it was immediately blown from his hand, and shot directly to Relina as she sat. Not expecting the object it crashed into her arms as she held them up in defence then flopped to her lap with the pages open.

“Let her read it to you, it will explain everything you wanted to know,” continued the Baron, then with a slow step he approached Adrian, stopping at his side. “Callis will kill the girl if you interrupt her reading, I suggest you listen closely. So make a choice, stay and be enlightened and she'll be allowed to leave, or follow and have her death on your hands because of your ignorance.”

Adrian remained still, fixated on the orb as the Baron's footsteps left the room and trailed off down the corridor. For the second time this Baron had forced him into a decision of life and death, with answers to his questions becoming the hostage. He started to understand just what Fa'Lina meant about his devious intent, always from the shadows, always ahead of the game, but never a participant to the dirty work.

“I suggest you listen closely for I will not allow her to repeat a thing,” remarked Callis breaking the man from his daze, Relina whined quietly under the sword as the edge shifted, “I will do it, these creatures are nothing more than destroyers to their own ends. And don't bother with any reasoning, I will not be swayed.”

Zealous, blind and judgemental, a horrible combination for someone who has had either a very bad experience or was easily swayed by words made of honey. “She isn't in any state to read a book properly, this is senseless, let me just read it” said Adrian trying to place emphasis on Relina's weakened state.

Stay where you are,” demanded Callis, her eyes narrowing, “I suggest she reads it quickly then. Don't keep Adrian waiting girl.” she said tapping the side of Relina's head.

Relina managed a heavy swallow, her hands and fingers felt weak but they managed to pry the pages open to the beginning of the book. Upon inspection, they appeared to be cut outs of a journal, small sections, not entirely complete. She didn't understand their purpose at all, but left with little choice, she began at the first entry.

“Today I encountered it...”

 

⁂

 

_'…this has to be the most uncomfortable thing I have felt in decades.'_ thought Destania as she stood before the ominous grey sphere that floated before her. Suspended by nothing but the black-blue hue around it, licks of energy lashed out resembling a trail of solar flares. There was nothing magical about this object that could be sensed, but there was a power that could be felt deep down.

How much time did she spend gazing at this strange construct, what was it that this thing produced that held an alluring pull when she first encountered it? The dark licks of energy were not just for show; they reached out, asking for contact.

A command.

It wanted to be used.

Carefully the blue succubus reached out with a hand, slowly, cautiously pondering her own wisdom of even interacting with it. Destania's survival instincts screamed as loud as ever in her mind; another whispered, piercing the yell with a much more compelling argument. She didn't know if it was her own thoughts or if it came from the sphere. But something told her that whatever power this object held, could be the answer to her goal.

The tips of her fingers drew close; to within inches of the surface. The air was cold, colder than Destania ever experienced. It was truly devoid of any compassion; only pure ruthlessness is what she could feel. An emotion, that's what she sensed in place of expecting magic, an all too familiar emotion at that.

“There you are!” called out a voice startling Destania and retracting her hand from near the sphere.

“Biggs...” replied Destania turning her head only enough to view him out the corner of his eye. To see Fa'Lina here as well was also surprising, but foolish to set foot into matters that as usual did not concern her. “Fa'Lina... how convenient of you to be here.” she drawled, returning her look to the sphere.

The tall poodle rounded to Destania's side so she could see the younger one's expression, concerned it was clearly fixated upon the strange object before her. It had been twenty-five years since they last saw each other, not even so much as a hello or even words of contempt. “Hello, Destania, it is good to see you are well at least.” greeted a very neutral toned Fa'Lina, a mere grunt was her return greeting which only further worried her. Taking Destania by the arm, Fa'Lina tugged gently, pulling her a step away from the sphere. “We must get you to safety, before Brelioro discovers you wandering,” she stressed before her hand was shoved away by a blue tendril along with a quiet growl as Destania put distance between them.

“I cannot leave, not yet,” replied Destania pushing past Biggs and shunting him away some.

Fa'Lina gave chase, “You cannot be serious, this is no time for games-”

“Do you not get it Fa'Lina?” snapped Destania whirling back to face them.

“No, tell me, why can you not leave?” asked Fa'Lina with a raised eyebrow.

Destania motioned out to the door, “Did you not find it strange that I am simply wandering about, without restraint right now. If I could leave I would have already done so!” she said, despising the notion that this had to explained when it should be so obvious. Her tone quieted, “Adrian is here, is he not? Why is he not with you?” she asked glaring at Biggs behind her.

It was strange that Destania felt compelled to remain. It was clear that something else was tying her to this awful place. Briefly the poodle cubi glanced to the side to Biggs whom worked with that small computer tablet Adrian had given them before separating. Earlier he had been rather talkative, now he was just silent and focused on the device.

Catching the pair of glances he looked to them directly, but said nothing before going back to the computer, frantically punching in the holographic keys like he was texting.

“I have to kill him...” said Destania ignoring the ferret for now.

“You will not succeed.” countered Fa'Lina bluntly.

“I do not have a choice.”

“There are always choices-”

“Do not start with that whole possibilities nonsense you like to spout!”

“You know Adrian will not harm you.”

“...That is what I am counting on.”

“He will not, I know he will not, he trusts you.”

“Um, I hate to bring this up,” interrupted Biggs waving the computer in the air briefly, “But Adrian hasn't responded for the last twenty minutes. I don't know what he's doing any more.”

Fa'Lina wasn't sure what that meant, only that it determined any number of things could happen at this point since her future sight abilities for him had already long worn off. And only a few of them were going to have favourable results. It was then Fa'Lina became more concerned about the pulsating sphere at the end of the room, having ignored it at first she no longer could push aside the dreadful feelings it sent out in suffocating waves.

Feelings she had been close to a long time ago.

Fa'Lina blinked slowly, “This is...?”

“A marvel, is it not, Fa'Lina” spoke a new voice echoing into the room.

Each of them turned to the see the Baron, his folded arms, standing inside just past the doorway to the room, a pair of hollows flanked his sides blocking the exit to the room. He took a few more steps towards them and let out an amused chuckle, “My my, Destania, I leave you alone for a short while and you detour completely from your objective. How expected of you.” he said fanning his arms out towards them.

“Your poor directions are the reason for my lack of finding my target.” pointed out Destania throwing a threatening finger in his direction, “I doubt Adrian even arrived as you expected him too.”

The Baron shrugged off to one side pointing behind him with a thumb, “Oh but he did, your friends have yet to tell you he in fact arrived at the balcony.” he said.

“The balcony?” blinked Destania.

“The one at the top of this tower, of course.”

“What, how...?” snapped Destania glaring at her two 'friends', Biggs shrugged his shoulders showing he had no idea himself to begin with. Where as Fa'Lina held indifferent stare, she knew something, “HOW Fa'Lina, did he FLY or something to that effect?” she blasted towards the poodle.

“You really did not dig deep enough into his mind did you? I am surprised,” returned Fa'Lina with a shifty stare, “I hardly think worrying about how is relevant now anyway.” she said dropping her arms from their folded state and clenching her fists before shaping her wings into a number of failing tendrils. She then put on a sudden smile, “You can ask him yourself if you desire.”

The shing of a blade cut the air, not once but twice with precision. In two slices the pair of hollows that had followed the Baron collapsed to the ground in crumpled heaps, their bodies quickly crumbling away in the wake of Adrian's sword that struck them down. From the second swing he kept the blade pointed to the ground, and appeared fixated on something, or someone in the room.

“Adrian, that was quick... so nice of you to join us.” greeted the Baron without turning.

“Give it up Bre,” said Biggs smacking a fist into his palm, “It's four against one, not even you could take on all of us, especially when Adrian knocked off a Dragon.”

“A dragon you say...?” said a mildly surprised Baron feigning his shock, “So Adrian was the one who killed Chandlus, that is unsurprising.” he chuckled waving an arm out to one side directing a hand out to the Creator behind him, “I'd expect nothing less, but tell me young man, Adrian, how was your story reading earlier?”

“Very, enlightening...” growled Adrian.

Destania didn't like the tone of voice used, it sent a mild shiver along her nerves as it soon dawned on her Adrian was not fixated on the Baron, but those that stood past the red garbed individual.

The Creator also held something in his free hand that struck an uneasy question to mind.

Fa'Lina, seeing the same thing asked first, “...Adrian, what is that in your hand?” she asked eyeing what looked to be a scruff of damaged feathers and mauve coloured hair. She blinked worriedly, quickly realising that no longer could she dive into the depths of his mind to find the answer. He had blocked her out, and no doubt Destania as well.

Releasing the contents of his hand out to one side, Adrian let the hair and feathers glided out into the air, scattering about until it fell to the ground. Blood coated much of the remains of the Cubi he had torn it from. Once the last feather touched the floor he growled and shunted his hand forward towards them. An incredible force blasted out from his palm, it cracked the stone tiles and sent everything that wasn't fixed to the floor flying into the air.

Fa'Lina braced herself against the blast, it struck like nothing she ever encountered, it was as if the full force of the planet's nature had just been turned against them. Even her wards did little to prevent herself from being throwing back into a nearby pillar with a crash and then sliding down the broken stonework. Despite the jarring motion the headmistress landed on her feet with only a light stumble, yet as soon as her feet touched the floor the pillar she leant against was suddenly struck with another force. The impact cracked the foundation but it did little to startle Fa'Lina further as she rested with a calm stance, her hands held in front of her in case of an attack followed up.

The air cleared briefly as the carnage came to a rest, Fa'Lina's eyes met with a snarling Adrian whom had run his fist into the pillar behind her as a means of intimidation. His arm rested just an inch from her head, a direct hit would've surely destroyed her Avatar.

“You lied to me!” blasted Adrian snarling through his teeth, “You said you never met her, that you never cross paths with her! I trusted you in that truth and you still lied to me!”

His tone was almost deafening, a furious angry emotion poured out prompting Fa'Lina to strengthen her filters to their limits. Adrian was angry, perhaps he had every right to be. Performing a single blink but remaining still she said, “I only lied to you once, Adrian.”

“One too many, Fa'Lina!”

Adrian then suddenly leant backwards, a sharp blue tendril shot between the two of them and impacted against the ground nearby. Destania had leapt towards them, her wings shaped into various sharp instruments with the intent to bring harm. She lashed at Adrian, putting him on the defensive as he dodged out of the way while deflecting some that had chased after him.

Destania's attacks were relentless, forcing Adrian to utilise both his weapon and his powers to derail their trajectory. He made it difficult to find an opening even with her advantage of numbers and speed. She threw a few spells into the mix, direct beams along with slower projectiles to throw her target off-balance. One of the spells managed to make contact with his weapon hand, the force knocking it to one side, leaving an opportunity which she took by slamming every one of her tendrils shaped into one large solid object. Although her attack connected, it did not connect with his body, but a rocky earth shield he had formed from debris around them.

At most Adrian skidded a short distance across the stone floor by his feet until he came to a rest, a strong, stern gaze met Destania's fierce expression.

“I knew I should never have trusted you, Biggs was a fool!” grunted Destania as she formed her tendrils into sharp blade and raked them across the cobbled shield slowly. “Did it feel good to kill an inexperienced child, Adrian? You must be proud, a little girl compared to a dragon!” she chided. He said nothing back except providing a stare. Pushing against her wings with his makeshift shield, a small cut was across his face from an earlier attack that had struck.

He repeated her question in his mind, Did it feel good?

 


End file.
